50/50
SEPTEMBER 30, 2011
The story line is close to my heart and with much apprehension I decided to go see it anyway. It is based on a true story about a young man diagnosed with cancer and his challenge to beat the disease. Starring Seth Rogan (Kyle) and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Adam) the humor is limited but subtle and sweet.
The two stars do a great job telling a story that has many dark moments but the style of acting that they portray is from a real place. Will Reiser did a great job of keeping it zoned in to the characters without a lot of Hollywood hype that often goes into writing stories of this nature. Hollywood injects flash and flare when they sidebar a story which leaves the viewer less invested in the characters.
Investing in these characters is easy, as I felt it was true to what happens in the family dynamic as well as the friends that have surrounded a person affected by cancer. Having lived this, there were many scenes that were very reflective of what I went through. Friends struggle to keep you uplifted with a sense of humor. Some are more likely to tell you of their brushes with cancer and do not listen because they are talking too much to hear you. There are friends and family who try to do the right thing, grouping some of the great necessities together evenly. Support comes in the form of listening, humor, support, respect and love while instinctively knowing which one is needed and giving it freely.
Adam's mother, Diane (Anjelica Houston) represents almost all mothers who find themselves wanting to take care of their child. At this point they want to take their babies in their arms and nurse them back to health as they did when they were little. It is in the human nature of mothers to want to heal their children with love and chicken soup.
Katherine (Anna Kendrick) is the therapist right out of college and Adam becomes her third patient. While Adam is struggling to accept that he has cancer, Katherine is trying to do all the right text book things to help him. She finds herself deviating from the doctor/patient relationship and begins to learn there is more to what they taught her in school. The ebb and flow of these two characters give an important structure to the story.
Adam's girlfriend, Rachael (Bryce Dallas Howard) is a self centered person who can not relate in any way to the cancer part of his life. She thinks only of her own needs and the two struggle to keep their relationship alive. Kyle is fully aware of the things that Rachael is doing behind Adam's back. When he gets a chance to prove it and catch her in the act, all hell breaks loose.
Adam befriends two cancer patients, Alan (Phillip Baker Hall) and Mitch (Matt Frewer), who he meets while receiving his chemotherapy. This brings the film full circle while showing that some folk just are not able to survive no matter what they do to beat the disease. Klye and Adam begin hanging out with these two people outside of the cancer center, taking the friendship to a new level.
Sometimes the circle of life has the potential to end too soon. This is just one story of hundreds of thousands that could be told and it hits on many of the typical things that happen when someone is diagnosed with cancer. Not everybody can put on a brave front while fighting the good fight and this film gives both the dark and light sides of what can happen. It is a well balanced and a fabulous story of surviving cancer.
RUSTY
10/31/11